Nokia greenlights Bluetooth glucometer app

Ever since Johnson & Johnson company Lifescan demonstrated a prototype iPhone app and Bluetooth-enabled glucometer at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference last year, the personal medical device market has buzzed about connecting blood glucose meters to smartphones. Lifescan’s was a prototype that Apple asked them to whip up in a few weeks, and a similar product offering from the company has yet to see the light of day.

Today, however, Nokia has teamed up with Entra Health Systems to release a similar app that works with a Bluetooth-enabled glucose meter and on more than 50 Nokia phones.

Officially, Nokia has inked a deal with Entra Health Systems to include Entra’s MyGlucoHealth app in the Nokia Ovi Store, but the app enables users to transmit blood glucose testing results from a MyGlucoHealth Wireless meter through the user’s mobile phone to a personal health record. Here’s the official description from the Ovi Store:

“The MyGlucoHealth Mobile diabetes management system permits blood glucose testing results on the MyGlucoHealth Wireless meter to be transmitted from your mobile phone to your personal health record portal using Bluetooth technology. Patients can also review their most recent blood sugar test results, view line charts, pie charts and histograms, as well as enter, fitness, weight, exercise and nutritional data.”

Entra told MobiHealthNews that the app has already had some 40,000 downloads after only just a few weeks of availability during the soft launch. MyGlucoHealth has both FDA clearance and a CE Mark. A similar offering has been available in Australia through wireless operator Telstra since the end of 2009.

While the MyGlucoHealth app is free, users need to purchase a MyGlucoHealth Wireless meter, which is a medical device, through Entra’s channel partners like McKesson at Sterling Medical or other resellers like Advanced Diabetes Supply. We found it on sale online for a little more than $200.

$200 is ridiculous. AMC has been providing this type of service, using a glucometer adaptor, which converts the Lifescan devices’ (currently the One Touch Ultra, Ultra 2 and Mini) readings to a bluetooth signal which is received by the handset (just a simple Nokia 6085 or 2720). We do this for much less than any quoted figure.

http://mobihealthnews.com Brian Dolan

Leon, That sounds very interesting. I’d like to learn more — I’ll shoot you a note. BD

http://www.phtcorp.com Scott Bradley

Excellent news! Entra is making a lot of progress with their Bluetooth glucose meter, which is in itself a superior meter and a one-piece solution (no adapter required). Our company selected Entra for these reasons and integrated the myglucohealth meter with our LogPad eDiary. We’re deploying a clinical trail using this solution today.